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Judoka wins Asian Games gold after honouring dying grandmother's wish / Photo: Giuseppe CACACE - AFP
Judoka wins Asian Games gold after honouring dying grandmother's wish
Tokyo-born Huh Mimi switched to representing South Korea at judo at the wish of her dying grandmother and was rewarded with Asian Games gold on Thursday in Japan.
The Olympic silver medallist, who was born to a Korean father and a Japanese mother and represented Japan until 2021, beat Mongolia's Ariunzaya Terbish to win the women's under-57kg final.
Huh is the descendent of a Korean independence fighter from the Japanese colonial period and her grandmother's final wish was for her granddaughter to compete under the South Korean flag.
Huh said it had been "a long and difficult journey" after winning gold in the country of her birth.
"There was a lot of pressure and expectation, and I could really feel the weight of it," said the 23-year-old.
"But people kept getting in touch and telling me that it didn't have to be a gold medal, they just wanted me to stay healthy and not get injured.
"Hearing that helped me go into the competition with a much clearer mentality," she added.
Huh won silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics after losing to Canada's Christa Deguchi in the final.
She beat Terbish by yuko in a close final that went the distance in Nagoya.
It was South Korea's first judo gold of the competition.
"I don't have much experience of being in the lead so early," said Huh.
"I looked up at the clock and saw that there were still three minutes and 50 seconds left.
"I thought, 'What am I supposed to do now?' So I just kept hanging in there."
H.Zampino--INP
